Gwyneth Paltrow tried to help Madonna stay

Gwyneth Paltrow desperately tried to convince her friend Madonna to save her marriage to Guy Ritchie.

The Hollywood actress, who has been close pals with the pop superstar for a number of years, spent months urging the singer to try and make the relationship work for the sake of their children.

A source said: "Gwyneth will be deeply upset the marriage has ended. She begged Madonna all summer not to be an idiot and let the marriage fall apart. No one tried harder than Gwyneth to convince them to stick together. But Madonna has always been her own women and in the end made her own decision."

Madonna, 50, and Guy, 40, raise three children together, Lourdes, 12 - Madonna's daughter by dancer Carlos Leon - Rocco, eight, and adopted David Banda, two. Gwyneth - who mainly lives in London with her British musician husband, Coldplay's Chris Martin, and their four-year-old daughter Apple and son Moses, two - is believed to be worried she will lose contact with the '4 Minutes' singer once the couple's legal separation is finalised.

A source added: "They used to have so much in common. They were both married to British men, split their time between the UK and US, raised young children and were incredibly successful in their chosen careers. But when Madonna becomes single again Gwyneth fears that bond will be broken. Overnight, they go from having everything in common to almost nothing. Gwyneth fears they friendship may not survive if Madonna moves back to America."

Madonna announced she was splitting from Guy yesterday (15.10.08) ending months of speculation the marriage was in trouble. Her spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg said in a statement: "Madonna and Guy Ritchie have agreed to divorce after 7 l/2 years of marriage. They have both requested the media maintain respect for their family at this difficult time. A final settlement has not been agreed upon yet."